On December 4, 2025, a landmark series of agreements known as the Washington Accord was signed at the White House. Brokered by President Donald Trump, the deal brought together President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to address three decades of conflict in Eastern Congo.
While presented as a peace initiative, the accord is fundamentally a geopolitical resource play. It creates a formal bridge between African security and the West’s desperate need for critical minerals like cobalt and lithium.
Key Pillars of the Washington Accord
The accord is not a single document but a three-part framework designed to align security interests with industrial supply chains.
| Framework | Core Objective | Key Provisions |
| Main Peace Agreement | Ceasefire & Sovereignty | Permanent cessation of hostilities; mutual respect for borders; withdrawal of foreign troops. |
| Regional Economic Integration (REIF) | Mineral Formalization | Legalizes mineral flow from DRC through Rwanda; establishes transit fees and joint supply chain monitoring. |
| Strategic Asset Reserve (SAR) | U.S. Priority Access | Designates specific “critical assets” (gold, lithium, cobalt) where U.S. firms have Right of First Refusal. |
The Strategy: “Friend-Shoring” vs. Chinese Dominance
The primary driver for U.S. intervention was the strategic threat posed by China’s control over the battery supply chain.
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The Problem: In 2025, China controlled roughly 70–90% of global processing capacity for minerals like cobalt.
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The Solution: The Washington Accord facilitates “Friend-Shoring.” By stabilizing the region and securing legal mineral corridors, the U.S. can bypass Chinese-controlled processing hubs and transport minerals via the Lobito Corridor to Atlantic ports in Angola.
Winners and Losers: A Transactional Peace
The deal creates a high-stakes environment where corporate interests are the first to be realized, while humanitarian stability remains fragile.
The Corporate Beneficiaries
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KoBold Metals: Backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, the AI-mining firm secured seven exploration permits in July 2025, including rights to the massive Manono lithium deposit.
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Asset Managers: Firms like BlackRock and Vanguard have positioned significant capital toward these newly “stabilized” concessions.
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U.S. Defense Contractors: Lockheed Martin and Raytheon gain secured access to materials essential for advanced aerospace and battery tech.
The Ongoing Conflict
Despite the ceremony, the war in Eastern Congo has not vanished.
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M23 Rebels: Not a direct signatory to the Washington Accord, M23 remains a shadow negotiator through a separate track in Doha.
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The FDLR Challenge: Rwanda’s withdrawal is conditioned on the total neutralization of the FDLR—a group deeply embedded in Congolese society for 30 years—making a full military exit difficult to verify.
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Humanitarian Toll: As of late 2025, the DRC still hosts 7.3 million internally displaced persons. Within 24 hours of the signing, clashes were reported in South Kivu, proving that “paper peace” often lags “ground reality.”
Conclusion: A “Mineral-for-Peace” Model
The Washington Accord represents a new era of transactional diplomacy. It succeeds in making the illicit mineral trade legal and securing a Western foothold in the race for green energy resources. However, for the people of Eastern Congo, the deal risks commercializing the status quo—replacing warlords with boardrooms without necessarily ending the violence of extraction.